Nicolás Gaona Reydet

A critical global public health problem is the rise of multidrug-resistant pathogens. In Chile, this crisis increases patient mortality rates by 42% due to a critical shortage of effective medical treatments.

This crisis, which incurs a significant public health system cost, is being tackled by the Biomaterials Chemistry Laboratory at the Usach Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, where researchers have spent four years designing a clinical dressing to treat chronic infected wounds.

Extremophiles from Antarctica and the Atacama Desert will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 8 to study their biological adaptation to microgravity and high-radiation conditions inside the station.

To advance scientific collaboration between Brazil and Chile, Dr. Robinson Cruz, Research Manager at Brazil’s Hercílio Randon Institute (IHR), visited the Electroceramic Materials Laboratory at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, led by Dr. Domingo Ruiz.

The Second International AlQui (Alginate-Chitosan) Workshop, held at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology during the last week of May, brought together the public sector and scientific researchers currently working in the field.

The Annual Congress of the Pharmacological Society is a space whose purpose is to promote scientific exchange, update evidence, and foster collaborations that drive research in pharmacology.

In this context, and before the closing conference, the event organizers decided to recognize Dr. Juan Pablo García Huidobro, an academic from the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, for his role in training undergraduate and graduate students, his career as a researcher, “and above all for his influence on many academics who now belong to the Pharmacological Society.”

Dr. José Zagal, a professor at the University of Santiago de Chile and winner of the 2024 National Science Prize, has reached a new global milestone. In 2026, he will be honored in Kyoto, Japan, with the Linstead Career Award during the 14th International Conference on Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines (ICPP14).

The Chilean Society of Microbiology (SOMICH) recently hosted its annual meeting, a premier event that convened over 400 researchers, students, and experts. The gathering showcased the latest advancements across diverse fields, including clinical, environmental, industrial, and agricultural microbiology.

The Diploma in Artificial Intelligence Applied to Education offered by the University of Santiago is designed to provide up-to-date training on artificial intelligence, contextualized to the Chilean reality and consistent with the guiding principles of international organizations such as UNESCO and the OECD in the field of education.

“Científicas” is an innovative initiative led by the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology at the University of Santiago, Chile. Organized by the Outreach and Public Engagement Unit, the program seeks to recognize the achievements of women in science, encourage new STEM vocations, and build a more inclusive scientific community.

Researchers from the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology successfully designed a pyridinium salt molecule that is critical for molecular electronics. The molecule's key feature is its ability to perform reversible electrical switching even when immobilized on a surface.